


More Than Friends

by rachel_exe



Series: Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 09:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19293001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachel_exe/pseuds/rachel_exe
Summary: I know it’s the middle of the night, but can you come over, please?





	More Than Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is something I wrote for a prompt I received on tumblr a while back, I hope you enjoy!

Levi was watching his favourite TV show when the phone on his nightstand buzzed. He frowned, wondering who could be texting him so late at night, but when he saw his best friend’s name on the screen, he unlocked it at the speed of light.

**Eren: I know it’s the middle of the night, but can you come over, please?**

Levi didn’t think twice before getting out of bed and dashing downstairs. He scribbled a note, telling his mom where he was going and then left with his shoes haphazardly laced. The last time he had seen Eren had been at his mom’s funeral the previous week and after that, the boy had skipped school and rarely replied to his messages, leaving him in a constant state of worry. Levi had figured he just needed some time to recover from his grief, so he had given him space and daily contacted Eren’s sister to make sure he was still alive. 

Once he arrived at Eren’s house, Levi wasn’t surprised to see that all the lights were off. It was a little past 1 a.m. after all, so he rounded the house and climbed up the big tree in front of Eren’s window. He had often snuck in and out of Eren’s room in the past, especially when the boy had been grounded, so he was used to the exercise and promptly reached Eren’s window. It was already open, the gentle breeze moving the curtain in front of it, and Levi peeked inside. 

“Eren,” he whispered. 

There was no reply, but from the little light that came from the streetlamp he could make out a lump on the bed underneath the covers. He entered through the window and removed his shoes before approaching the figure. 

“Eren,” he called again in a higher tone this time. 

The blankets moved and Eren turned towards him. He didn’t say anything, he simply stared at him with trembling lips and Levi felt a pang in his chest. He walked over to the bed and lay next to him on top of the covers. As soon as he settled on the bed, Eren buried his face against his chest and Levi could feel his hoodie getting wet as sobs shook Eren’s shoulders. 

“Shh, I’m here,” Levi said while he held Eren tightly in his arms. 

“Levi,” Eren’s voice was broken and hoarse from crying. It hit Levi right in the heart, cracking the shield he had put around his true feelings for the boy. 

“I’m here,” he repeated. 

He caressed Eren’s hair, tugging it away from his face and noticed many locks were stuck together from its greasiness. He would have normally been disgusted by it, but in that moment he only cared about Eren’s sobs, so he kept comforting him, running his hand through his hair again and clearing his face until he could see the tears falling down his cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumb and Eren finally looked up at him. 

His eyes were watery and covered by a veil of sadness. He sniffed, another thing Levi would have normally found off-putting, but nothing Eren did ever disgusted him. He caressed his heated cheek again, even if this time there were no tears on it and softly smiled at him. 

“Do you need anything?” 

Eren shook his head in denial. “Just stay.” 

“Of course,” Levi replied and after moving away the few stray hairs on Eren’s forehead, he placed a kiss on it. 

Eren stiffened under his touch and Levi realised he had let his feelings for Eren take over him and make his movements become more tender and intimate than he had intended. He slowly pulled back, stomach turning into a knot and mind trying to come up with a decent excuse, but before he could move away, Eren’s mouth was pressing against his. 

It was his turn to freeze as Eren kissed him with lips that tasted like salt. He had imagined many times what it would be like to kiss those beautiful, plump lips, to feel their warmth directly on his skin and let their movements speak for him, but he had always discarded those pointless fantasies, painfully aware that they would never come true. 

He was sure his feelings were unrequited and would always remain so, and yet Eren was the one kissing him now, harder and more desperate than before and Levi couldn’t do anything. He was paralysed and blankly stared at the wall behind the television. His insides were twisting and turning, and his heart was pounding against his chest so hard he thought it was going to break free, but his mind was unable to send signals to his mouth to kiss Eren back. 

When Eren pulled away, Levi was sure years had passed, but the clock on the nightstand told him it was barely a minute later. He moved his eyes to Eren. He could still feel his touch on his lips and his heartbeat hadn’t decreased, on the contrary, it was beating even faster at the sight in front of him. Eren was biting his bottom lip, which Levi had always found sexy and distracting before, but now he was doing so to keep it from trembling and Levi’s stomach sank at the thought that he was the cause of it. 

“Eren,” was the only thing his mind could come up with. 

“I’m sorry,” the boy whispered and averted his eyes, fighting with the blankets to turn around. 

“Wait,” Levi stopped him. “I…”

He had always struggled with words, but had he always been so dumb? 

“I understand if you don’t want to stay anymore,” Eren muttered, looking heartbroken and on the verge of tears again. 

“I’m not leaving you,” Levi said, louder than necessary. “I.. I love you.” 

Eren looked at him with wide eyes, searching his face evidently confused by Levi’s statement. Levi held his gaze as if his life depended on it and to a certain degree, it did. 

“You don’t have to lie just to make me feel better,” Eren eventually said. 

“I’m not lying,” Levi quickly assured him. “I mean it.” 

“It didn’t feel like it before.” 

“My mind went into overdrive and I didn’t know what to do. I think I’ve become stupid.” 

Eren smiled for the first time in weeks. “That’s not hard to believe.” 

“Oi.” 

Eren softly laughed and the sound was the sweetest music to Levi’s ears. He moved close to him again, pressing his face against Levi’s chest and Levi instinctively wrapped his arms around his figure still covered by the blankets. 

“I love you too, by the way,” Eren whispered. 

“Oh, okay.” 

Levi had definitely become stupid. 

  
  
When Levi woke up, Eren was still asleep. With the sun shining through the window, he could clearly see his pale face and the dark circles under his eyes, but despite that he was wearing a peaceful expression, lightly snoring next to him and Levi hoped he had been able to have a dreamless night. 

As he looked at him, the words from the previous night came to his mind and he couldn’t fight the smile that curved his lips upwards. Tons of questions kept popping up into his head and he was dying to kiss Eren again, properly this time, but he let him sleep in his arms, patiently waiting for when he would wake up. 

Levi had been awake for almost an hour when the door of Eren’s room opened. Mikasa peeked inside, evidently concerned, but her features relaxed when he saw Levi on the bed. 

“You’re here,” she stated. 

“I came last night.” 

“How’s Eren?” 

“I’m not sure, but at least he’s sleeping,” Levi replied, looking at the boy next to him. 

“That’s good,” Mikasa whispered, clear relief in her voice. “Dad’s at work and I have to go buy some food. Can you stay a bit longer?” 

“Of course, I’ll look after him.” 

“Thank you,” Mikasa replied and after saying goodbye to Levi, she left. 

As the door closed, Eren began to move in Levi’s arms and his eyes slowly fluttered open. 

“Good morning,” Levi whispered. 

Eren looked at him with surprise in his eyes and his cheeks turned red in a matter of seconds. 

“’Morning,” he muttered. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Eren dropped his gaze and rested his forehead on Levi’s chest. “I don’t know.” 

Levi caressed his back, fighting the urge to kiss him and Eren stilled under his touch. Levi didn’t stop, though, and kept smothering the blankets covering Eren in a clumsy attempt to make him feel better. He moved to fix Eren’s bed hair and in the sunlight he noticed it was even more greasy than he had anticipated. 

“Do you want to take a bath?” he asked. 

“No,” Eren muttered against his chest. “I just want to stay in bed.” 

“I was just being polite, Eren. You stink, so you either walk to the bathroom or I’ll carry you myself.” 

Eren lowly laughed. “I guess you’re right.” 

“You know I am,” Levi said. “I’m going to start the bath; I give you five minutes to get out of bed.” 

He stood up, sore from sleeping in the same position the entire night, and Eren pouted at him. He looked too cute for Levi to resist and before he knew what he was doing, he bent forward to kiss his forehead, the only visible part of Eren’s skin and then went to the bathroom while his heart tried to escape from his chest. 

He quickly started the bath, opening the faucets and regulating the temperature, and while he waited for it to fill up, he brushed his teeth with the toothbrush he had always had at Eren’s. Once he was finished, he prepared shampoo and soap next to the bathtub and was about to go get Eren when the boy entered the room. 

He was wearing black pyjama bottoms of his size and a T-shirt that Levi recognised as the one he usually wore when he crashed at Eren’s house. It was too tight for him, so much so that it didn’t cover his entire stomach and the hairs going from his bellybutton to underneath his pants were clearly visible, but he looked adorable in it and Levi couldn’t help staring. 

“I was feeling lonely,” Eren justified himself, playing with the hem of the T-shirt. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Levi replied as his chest tightened. “The bath should be ready.” 

Eren looked at the water and then back at Levi, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. 

“What?” Levi questioned. 

“I have to undress.” 

“Yes?” Levi didn’t understand the problem. 

Eren was still standing in the middle of the door frame, twisting the T-shirt in his hands and something inside of Levi’s mind finally clicked. 

“I’ve seen you naked plenty of times,” he said. “It’s a bit too late to be shy now.” 

“I know, but after yesterday…” Eren trailed off. 

“After yesterday I’m probably going to see you naked a lot more, so get into the fucking bath already.” 

Eren snorted and after hesitating a bit more, he moved closer to the bath, turning around before undressing. Levi admired the lean body that had kept him awake many nights, taking in every small detail and realised his fantasies didn’t come even remotely close to the real thing. 

Once naked, Eren got into the bath and Levi regained his senses. 

“Is the temperature okay?” he asked. 

“Yes,” Eren smiled at him, making Levi’s heart leap in his chest. 

“I’ll wash your hair first.” 

Levi sat on the edge of the bath and quietly washed Eren’s hair, three times with the shampoo and once with the conditioner. Eren stayed still with his arms wrapped around his knees and moved his head only when Levi told him to. It was peaceful and the rare sounds that came from the real world got lost in the silent atmosphere that surrounded them. 

When he was done with Eren’s hair, Levi washed his back, first with a sponge and then with his hands, skimming over the boy’s smooth skin and massaging his tense shoulders. Eren had his eyes closed and occasional tears fell down his face, but he didn’t say anything and Levi didn’t mention it. 

“I’m done,” Levi said when Eren’s back had turned red from scrubbing it. “I’ll let you finish alone now.” 

Eren quickly wiped away the stray tears and softly smiled at him. “Okay.” 

Levi crouched in front of him, caressing his cheek. He would have done anything to make Eren’s pain go way and would have taken part of it if he could have, but he knew it wasn’t possible and that only time would be able to mend his wounds, so he just kissed his cheek and dried off his tears. 

“I’ll be in your room,” he said, standing up. 

Eren nodded, giving Levi another small smile and then started to wash himself. Levi left the room with a heavy heart, glancing back at Eren before closing the door behind him. 

While he waited for Eren to finish his bath, Levi changed the bedsheets and aired Eren’s bedroom. He listened closely for any sounds coming from the bathroom, but he didn’t hear anything unusual and went on with his chores, putting the dirty clothes in the washing machine downstairs and piling Eren’s dishes in the kitchen sink. 

He was putting on the clean bedsheets when the bathroom’s door opened and a few seconds later, Eren entered into his room. 

“Hey,” Levi said, turning to face him. 

“Hey.” 

Eren was wearing the clothes he had brought with him earlier, a pair of blue sweatpants and a white sweater that perfectly covered his tall figure. His hair was still wet, dripping on his shoulders, but he looked a lot better than when he had woken up. 

“Let me dry your hair,” Levi said. 

He took the towel from Eren’s hands and started to dry his hair, but Eren stopped him and hugged him tightly. 

“Thank you,” he uttered against Levi’s neck. 

Levi hugged him back. “I’ll always be here for you.” 

Eren nuzzled closer to him and his hair wet Levi’s cheek, but Levi didn’t mind it and gently rubbed Eren’s back. 

“I meant what I said last night,” he muttered. 

Eren’s breath hitched in his throat and Levi heard him inhale deeply before pulling away. 

“Me too,” he said, looking in Levi’s eyes. 

It was now time for Levi to gasp as his heartbeat picked up. His mind voided of all thoughts and words escaped him, but his heart was clear on what he wanted to do, so he stood on his tiptoes and kissed Eren’s lips. It still felt strange and surreal to be kissing him after years of hiding his feelings, but he didn’t doubt Eren for a second and brought him closer to his body. 

When their lips parted, Eren was blushing up to his ears and the pain had partially faded from his face. He stared at Levi in silence, simply holding him in his arms. 

“Say something,” Levi exhorted, starting to feel uncomfortable under his unmoving gaze. 

“I don’t know what to say,” Eren replied, smiling. “I think I’ve become stupid as well.” 

“Don’t worry too much about it, you always were,” Levi retorted with a smile of his own. 

Eren chuckled, shoulders relaxing and eyes softening. When he had seen him the previous night, Levi didn’t think he was going to see any improvements soon, but as Eren smiled at him, he knew the worst was gone. He hugged him again, a hand on his back and the other on his nape, and as Eren clutched his hoodie, he knew they were going to be fine. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated :)  
> [ Tumblr ](https://talkereritome.tumblr.com/) (I've got a new username now!)  
> [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/exe_rachel)


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